OK, so I'm still new at this, but something doesn't look right. I planted some cosmos seeds in a domed tray under 2 lights (1 of them a grow light). The plants are about 5 inches from the lights. The lights are on a timer for about 12 hours.The plants look like anorexic models and are starting to lie down like a bunch of drunks. What am I doing wrong? Snapdragons are on the other side and they're looking pretty skinny too. HELPPPP
I'm sure others will chime in, but the lights are too far away (think 2" or less) or you don't have enough of them. 5" is okay for primroses and impatiens, but for the sun lovers, you just need more light.
Suzy
I keep my lights around 1 inch away from the top of the seedlings. Also 18 hours On and 6 hours Off. Try lowering your lights or raising the flats. The should strighten up, give them some time. They are just newborns.
I run my lights 24 hours a day, but ddo not put the plants that close to the bulbs. The so called dark reaction of photosynthesis means that it can occur in the absence of light not that dark is necessary. It is true however that some seedlings (not snapdragons and cosmos) do require dark for germination.
Uncle Hudy.. hate to say this but those cosmos are goners. I would pull them out and replant. They are never gonna do anything good. They are streched to far.
I would get your seedlings next to them up closer to some light or you gonna have worse looking problems when them snaps start streching too.
Keep trying. At least you got them to sprout that half the battle. : )
Thanks for the advice, Starlight. I guess the only thing I can do with those stringy plants is tie them all together and hang myself. Either that, or start over. Let me think....ummmm. It's looks like I'm off to the store to get some more.
I have the snapdragons so close that they're complaining that they need sunglasses. And dragons don't even look good in glasses.
You can take those seedlings and transplant them into small pots and bury them up the leaves-they will be fine. Just be careful not to bend the stem when you sink them into the hole-its not easy-but doable. The reason they got that way is lack of light-you may have to replace the one light with a grow light-and growing them on the dry side will help with the stretching some. I grow mine in a grhouse, so I have no experience with grow lights, but only 2" above the plant seems really close-do they dry out excessively?
The only other thing is that the seedlings have a fungus that attacks the stem-common at this stage-but I can't see any signs of the stems "melting" or rotting-
when you look closely at the stems-do you see any sign of injury to the stem?
Cosmos are probably better sown in the ground - they grow so quick. If you do start them indoors, I'd wait just a few weeks (4 to 6) before your last frost date. January seems pretty early to start annuals.
Thanks for all the advice.
tigerlily..one of the two lights is a grow light and e1 here says to keep the lights close. It doesn't really seem to dry the soil out too much but I have misted the top. The stems seem to be in pretty good shape except they're long like they are trying to start their own basketball team.
hcmcdole...yes I have started a little too early. The packages suggest 8 weeks on the cosmos and 10-12 on the snapdragons. I'm counting on El Nino to bring an early spring.The snapdragons have slowed their growth since I put them closer to the light. They're not stretching like they just got held up at a convienience store.
I used to do the same thing - start way too early, then I'd have to do it all over again. Between damping off, fungus gnats, drying out, and of course transplanting I just decided to have more patience and plant them direct into the garden or containers outdoors. Almost all annuals and perennials grow so much better this way. For miniature seed, I still do those indoors but wait for warmer weather.
Well, I would repot them and bury them right to the leaves. Every summer I have the same situation with the ornamental kale that I grow, and we just sink them to the leaves in the pots. Actually-whenever you transplant seedlings, you should bury the stems to the leaves.
I don't know if this will help but here is a germ schedule that I have followed thru the years with good results-these germination dates are based on the plant ready to go in the ground the last wk of April/first week of May
These are the main ones:
Begonias Jan 11th ( they take a long time to grow)
Angelonia "
pentas "
geraniums Jan 20th
vinca "
blue salvia Feb 2
gomphrena Feb 7
rudbeckia "
red salvia Feb 13
impatiens Feb 16
petunias Feb 20
ornamental peppers Feb 20
portulaca Feb 20
marigolds Feb 27
celosia March 1
zinnias March 1
sunflowers, vines March 1
these are based on zone 7b
Thanks for posting that schedule tigerlily. I was looking for information on this exact topic. Now I know when to plant.
Jesse
I get so antsy about planting early that my wife chases me with a can of Raid.
I sowed my cosmos (sulphur and sensations) late last year - end of May (should've done it mid-April), then we got a nasty drought for weeks, but the seeds came up and did pretty good. My poppies didn't do squat but I should've put them out in fall or early spring. Then either the deer or rabbits kept my sunflowers chewed almost to the ground. They didn't bother the Mexican sunflowers (tithonia) though. Time for some bird netting, I guess. Oh well, another year to try it again.
The deer and rabbits eat almost everything we plant around here too. I plan on claiming them as dependents when I do my taxes later today. Here they are leaving my yard to see what's cookin' on the other side of the street.
That's a good one. I never thought about claiming them as dependents. Funny! You have a lot more deer than me (at least what I've seen so far).
Here is Bambi in my back yard this past summer. His (her) sibling was a little more timid so I couldn't get them together.
Awwwwwwwwww love the animals. Just wish they wouldn't eat so much of our stuff.
UncleHurdy. I have more cosmos seeds. would be glad to send ya some. Just dmail me your addy.
The two -four inches is the right height for your seedlings. Just take amist bottle and giv e em a mist ever once in awhile. Also water them from the bottom. That promotes stronger roots. The roots will do the water uptake and stretch for it. Make s em grow fatter and better.
starlight...thanks for the offer for the seeds. I still have more that I haven't tried to kill yet. ;-)
Is anyone aware of a indoor planting schedule for zone 5? .....so that they are nice size for mid May
Tigerlily, I could add 2-3 weeks to your list and that should work for me.
I start the beginning of April (first week), to have plants ready to "harden off" by May 15th.
Tammy, our last frost date is around 15th-22 of April- and i start sending annuals out after that, so look at your frost date as well in figuring it out.
i forgot to add that I put the petunias outside around the 3rd week of March ( thats pretty early here) in order to both slow down the growth and to harden them off. They are fairly small when they go outside, but if I think it will get really cold (under 35 degrees or so) then I have large frost blankets and weed block sheets that I cover them with. I don't mind the frost on them-but the colder nights are what I am trying to avoid. So if you don't want to put the petunias outside and cover ( or move back inside ) if needed, then start a week or two after the above date.
A cold frame with a floating row cover (spun polyester) helps a lot. My grandmother and step-grandfather used to sow their tobacco several weeks before frost in such a cold frame (direct sowed in the ground) and then set the plants in May. I guess all the farmers did it this way decades ago.
That is what I do, hcmcdole, except that my flats are on pallets to get good air circulation. Some of the blankets are 8x 60' long. They are the spun polyster-but the heavy ones ( I have the light ones too) as is the weed block. The weedblock goes over the white frost blanket and that really stops the frost from damaging the begonias that I put out at the same time as the petunias.
Here is a picture where I have setcreasea under the white blankets and the petunias are to the right , left uncovered. this was last year and we were just starting to move out the annuals. The begonias are in another section. I have had it snow while I have had begonias and petunias out there-but the weedblock does a great job of stopping the blankets from getting wet-
I have something similar for some of the larger tropicals I decided not to bring indoors. I have a banana, tropical hibiscus, ponytail palm, some ferns, a rubber tree, and a few more that are under a heavy duty tarp. They all probably need water but until the cold spell is gone, they will just have to tough it.
unclehudy.........enjoy your humor!.....always beneficial and good for what ails us
